Published: Wednesday, April 10, 2013 at 11:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, April 10, 2013 at 11:01 a.m.

Whether it's in war, on the athletic field or even in the arts, a plan has come to be regarded as essential for success. Imagine D-Day without a plan. Consider the end result for Jim Valvano's 1983 NCAA champion N.C. State Wolfpack if they had just decided to wing it.

On the other hand, there's little doubt that the story of The Avett Brothers – the mega-popular North Carolina group that's playing a concert for the Azalea Festival on Friday at Cape Fear Community College – would read much differently had they actually planned for their success.

"We were lucky," Seth Avett said during a recent phone interview. "All of this was really not by design."

Avett was referring to the accolades that the band from Concord he shares with brother Scott, bassist Bob Crawford and cellist Joe Kwon has received. The Avett Brothers have become one of the biggest industry darlings in modern American music, playing in front of thousands of fans all over the world. The band's most recent album, "The Carpenter," debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard Top 200 in September and garnered them their first Grammy Award nomination in the category of Best Americana Album. Their previous album, "I and Love and You," received national recognition as one of Time Magazine's top 10 albums of 2009.

To say that they've come a long way from playing in front of two dozen people at Peasants in Greenville to selling out Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheater on two consecutive nights would be as silly as saying they went into this endeavor with little more than a few stringed instruments and some talent.

Despite all of that, there was never a plan. It was almost as though the Avetts bought into the line from Robert Burns' "To a Mouse" regarding best laid plans rather than the conventional idea that a strategy is obligatory. The organic philosophy the band subscribed to was both a manifestation of their DIY mentality and a corny line from the Kevin Costner film "Field of Dreams": they built it AND people came.

"For us," he continued, "long term goals were useless. The music world, like life, is unpredictable."

What became predictable to many who watched them perform live was that there was a real energy the Avetts injected into the audience. It was this enthusiasm that would become synonymous with The Avett Brothers' live performances.

During our conversation, Avett's calm demeanor made it obvious that his spirited on-stage persona was completely different than the person speaking to me over the phone. His banter was highlighted by an incredible politeness and a resolve to convey the honest truth, especially when I asked him if success had forced a change in the band's early philosophies.

"We still think in simple terms," he said. "Back then we took small bites, and we still do. But we all change. We are all different than we were back then. As you get older you learn to appreciate joy and love more than ever."

He was silent, seemingly contemplative for a moment, then finished his thought. "We still take things day by day."

Our dialogue made the most sense to me when I mentioned the fast pace of the music industry, and he chimed in with a clever piece of irony: "Yes it is, but in this business you have to have lots of patience. Fortunately, we did."

That patience is something that comes naturally to the band in terms of songwriting, too.

"We are always in the writing process," Avett said. "We don't write to make records. We'll look at some (songs) that are in the working stages and speak to the ones that speak to us, and then those compelling songs take on a life of their own."

Take the song "Pretty Girl from Michigan" (one of many songs in the band's "Pretty Girl" series) from "The Carpenter."

"That song took like 10 years to figure out," Avett said. "We worked on it forever, and it just finally seemed right with a '50s rock foundation."

Like that song and many of the tracks on "The Carpenter," the Avetts' progression not only as songwriters, but as tunesmiths, is apparent. They have been able to integrate their influences into a sound uniquely their own. Where the early recordings were essentially harmony-driven blends of folk, gospel and bluegrass, the new record incorporates traditional rock ‘n' roll, indie rock and pop elements into the mix.

The Avett Brothers' concert in the Port City on Friday – their second Azalea Festival appearance in three years – is not by coincidence. Their popularity has made them fixtures at festivals all over the globe, and their North Carolina roots have made a return trip to Wilmington almost a requisite formality.

Despite not having a plan, the Avetts have successfully stamped their name onto the short list of icons of this generation. Even then, their success cannot be quantified simply by the number of awards, records sold or fans who continue to support them. Perhaps it can be measured by the simplistic adage that good things come to those who wait.

That wait is over for most of us. The question is whether The Avett Brothers feel they have waited long enough.

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